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Weightlifting: A Beginner’s Guide

Weightlifting has always been a popular exercise, but more and more men and women are starting to turn to it nowadays. It can help you to build muscle mass and become physically stronger, and it can be used as part of a varied fitness regime.

If you’ve just decided to get into weightlifting but you’ve absolutely no idea where to start, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Even the best weightlifters out there can say they were once in your shoes.

Rules for the beginner

While you might have visions of yourself lifting huge weight in just a few days, the fact is that you’ll need to start slowly. The rules to begin with will be:

– Only lift weights you can manage – it’s best to go for the smallest weights possible at first, even if you could potentially lift larger ones. This will train you up at a suitable pace. If you notice that you’re swinging the weight, you’re using one that’s too heavy and you could end up injuring yourself.

– Allow your body to rest for around 30-90 seconds between each repetition. Don’t rest for too long though – this can be just as bad as not resting at all!

Always warm up

This is the number one rule of weight training – you must always do a warm up. This gets the blood pumping and will begin to work your muscles, so you can move onto the weights without doing any damage. A moderate intensity cardio workout lasting ten minutes will do the job perfectly.

The best beginner’s weight workouts

There are numerous weight workouts you could opt for, but as a beginner you’ll need to be careful you don’t overexert yourself. Using machines rather than manually lifting weights will give you stability when still in the early stages of your training, so it can be safer.

Some of the best weight workouts for beginners include:

– Leg presses

– Leg extensions

– Leg curls

– Machine bench press

– Machine chest fly

– Machine bicep curls

– Air bike

Training tips for beginners

It can be easy to make mistakes when you’re first starting out with weightlifting, which might lead you to give up before you’ve managed to see any amazing results. Follow these tips to ensure you get the results you’re looking for:

– Always take a bottle of water to the gym with you, and drink the recommended amount of water throughout the day. Dehydration can cause you to feel weak, which will be counterintuitive to your training.

– Follow the right kind of diet for weight training. This means your diet needs to be high in protein and complex carbohydrates.

– Set up a weightlifting routine that you can follow – keep it up and you’ll see results within just a few weeks.

Weightlifting can seem incredibly daunting when you first start at it, especially if you’ve never tried it before. With persistence though, you’ll begin to notice small changes before long.

This article was written by Aurora Johnson on behalf of Fight Shop, a weightlifting and martial arts equipment and clothing supplier in the UK. Visit fightshop.com now to find out more.

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Medical Disclaimer

Statements on Get Holistic Health about health issues aren't meant to identify, treat, cure, or protect against illness. For those who have a health problem of any sort speak with your health care specialist. Material shown by Get Holistic Health is for educational purposes only and isn't meant to substitute for the recommendation of a doctor and other medical professional.